Page 60 of A Matter of Time
“Would anyone else care to join him?” Edna challenged with a determined gleam in her eye. Malcolm’s men turned to run, but Edna stopped them with a firm warning. “Dinnae move or ye’ll find yerselves in a similar position to yer boss.” They all immediately stopped. Angelina pried herself loose and ran to where she’d seen Richard fall. Miraculously, he’d been unharmed by the rocks that had exploded all around them. Malcolm’s man Nash hadn’t been so lucky. He was buried under the debris, his arm the only visible evidence of where he lay.
“Richard!” Angelina cried, dropping to her knees. “Richard! Please, wake up!”
Edna joined her, kneeling at Richard’s side. “Richard, ’tis Edna. I’m going to do my best to help ye, lad, but ye must want to come back to us.” She tore open Richard’s shirt to locate the bullet wound and found it in his right shoulder. “Angus, bring my saddlebag, dear.”
Angus did as she asked and placed it by her side. “Robert, Cailin, I’ll need yer help. Angus yer in charge of the saddlebag. Cailin, I need ye to hold Richard down in case he wakes while we work. Robert, I believe ye’ve more experience in treating battlefield wounds than I, so ’tis you who’ll remove the bullet. Do ye ken?”
“Aye.” Robert removed his dirk from his boot and joined Edna at Richard’s side.
Edna instructed Angus to retrieve a bottle of rubbing alcohol from the saddlebag. He reached in and pulled it out, along with gauze and other bandaging supplies. “Robert, let’s disinfect that blade, if ye dinnae mind.” Robert placed the dirk in her hand and she poured rubbing alcohol over the blade. She also poured some on Richard’s wound, for good measure.
Robert retrieved his knife and inserting it into the wound, carefully probed the wound to locate the bullet. When he found it, he asked Edna to pour more alcohol over his hands, before he used his fingers to grasp the bullet and remove it. “I believe it hit the bone, Edna.” Robert showed them a piece of bone fragment, which had come away along with the bullet.
“Never fear, Robert. Whilst a broken bone in these times can be a death sentence, especially if infection sets in, I assure ye I can make sure that doesnae happen.” She passed her hand over Richard’s wound, chanting a spell as she did so. She repeated this incantation a number of times and everyone watched in amazement as the wound began to close up, before their eyes.
“He’s going to be alright, dear,” Edna said, resting a comforting hand on Angelina’s shoulder. “He’s going to be alright. Your tears, mixed with my spell are what did it. You see, my spell alone would nae have worked, but your love for him seeped into that wound, along with your tears – and that’s what saved him.” Edna got to her feet with a little help from Angus. “He’ll need some time to heal. Although the wound is no longer visible, he will still suffer the pain of it.”
“Why isn’t he waking up?” Angelina demanded.
“He needs to sleep, to recover. Now, I must reset these stones. We cannae take the chance of anyone else getting their hands on the Twin Sword. Believe me, it would be a terrible disaster. The longer the cave entrance remains open, the more likely it is that someone will answer the call of the sword as it seeks its entrance back into the world.” She hurried away leaving Angelina crouched over Richard’s prone body.
“Are ye alright, lass?” Nick asked when he joined her. Edward joined them and knelt beside his brother. Both men gazed on Richard with brotherly love and eyes filled with unshed tears.
Edward brushed the loose dirt away from Richard’s face. “He’s a good man.”
“That he is, lad.” Nick placed a comforting hand on Edward’s shoulder and his other on Angelina’s. The three stayed at Richard’s side, determined to be there when he awoke.
Edna was preparingto reseal the vault.
“What do ye plan to do with that one?” Angus asked, pointing at Malcolm’s motionless figure.
“There’s nae I can do fer him now. He chose his own fate. He wanted the sword, and now he will share its resting place for all of eternity.” Edna began chanting and waved her arms across the cave entrance. With each new wave, the rocks began to drop back into place at the mouth of the cave. She gathered up the rocks covering Nash’s body, returning them to their original positions in the same manner. When the vault was completely sealed, Edna cast a second spell, leaving the cave entrance seamless. No one would ever know the cave had ever been there.
With that accomplished, Edna stood over Nash’s lifeless body. “I see nae need that ye should suffer for the misdeeds of yer master.” She ran her hands over his broken body, paying special attention to the areas in which he had suffered major injuries. Slowly, Nash came back to life. His eyes opened wide in sheer terror as he recalled what had happened. “Calm yerself,” Edna soothed. “Ye’ll be well again, lad. I intend to see that ye and yer friends go safely back to where ye came from with no memory of ever having been here. Ye will also spend yer days doing good, and avoiding evil from this point forward. Do ye ken?”
Nash nodded in agreement, as Edna called his friends to his side to assist him. The power of speech seemed to elude them, so Edna repeated what she had told Nash and left them to care for their friend.
“Angus, my love? Once we are finished here, I would like to go back to visit with the Campbell’s for a brief time. Yer Uncle Tavish will be relieved to hear that the sword is once again safely hidden away.”
“Edna, ye never cease to amaze me.” Angus pulled her into his arms and planted a big kiss on her lips. “I love ye, my wife.”
She snuggled into his embrace. “After visiting the Campbell’s, we’ll head back to Castle Fionn for a wee while, before going home to The Thistle & Hive.”
“That sounds like a wonderful plan, mo chroi.” Angus and Edna stood together and breathed a sigh of relief that it was over.
Chapter 29
Angelina, Nick and Edward stood watch over Richard Jefford as he continued to sleep. He hadn’t yet awoken from Edna’s spell, but he had started to stir, so they had gathered around the bed to wait. The MacKenzie’s had kindly offered Breaghacraig as a place for Richard to recuperate and invited Angelina, Nick, Edward and his men to stay indefinitely.
“Do you think he’ll awaken soon?” Edward asked, hope tingeing his voice.
“Aye. He will.” Nick sounded confident.
The door opened and Ashley entered. “How is he?” she asked, closing the door behind her.
“The same, but he’s grown restless. I believe he may wake soon,” Nick replied.
“Helene was coming to tell you that the noon meal is being served, but I told her I’d do it as I wanted to check on our patient.” Ashley had been spending increasing amounts of time in Richard’s room, helping to care for him. Gone was the fear that Angelina had seen that first day they arrived. Ashley seemed to have made peace with her concerns about him. “If you’d like to go down to grab a bite to eat or go outside for some fresh air, I’d be happy to sit with him. I’ll send word the minute he wakes.”
